Actor Jed Rowen recalls the shock of seeing one of his horror films, “The Witch’s Sabbath,” sitting next to a copy of the Jack Nicholson film “Wolf” on the shelf at his local Blockbuster store.
The former film’s budget was but a fraction of what it cost to bring out Nicholson’s inner beast, but horror movie fans don’t crunch numbers like studio executives do. Nor do they tally up continuity errors.
They just want a good scare.
Rowen, who recently appeared at the Starfest ‘10 event in Denver to help promote “Dahmer vs. Gacy,” learned a decade ago the horror genre was a good entry point for young actors.
“There’s a lot of [horror films] that don’t have any big names in them,” he says. “You can start working in movies and get real credits. And some of these movies get bigger distribution deals and wind up in videos stores. Some even get theatrical releases.”
So rather than compete with countless other actors for a guest spot on “Friends,” Rowen reached out to horror movie directors via the Web to see if they needed someone to flesh out their next film’s cast.
After all, Rowen offers an unconventional look that’s a snug fit within the horror genre. He’s tall, bald and can do menacing in his sleep, even if in person he’s anything but frightening.
In fact, it’s disarming to hear him discuss experimental theater and absurdist playwrights after watching him gnaw flesh in films like “Zombie Farm.”
The professional gamble paid off. Rowen quickly connected with some horror film directors and started compiling a long list of screen credits, including appearances in films like “Orgy of Blood” and “Rat Scratch Fever.“
His films typically feature tiny budgets, genre-friendly storytelling and some titles you can’ t say in front of your grandmother. But Rowen finds the thrill of being a working actor trumps all.
“To me, there’s nothing cooler and more fun than making a movie and being on a movie set,” he says.
Tomorrow: Rowen talks about his un-Hollywood side projects and why it’s important to have paper towels handy on a horror movie set.
(Photo: Actor Jed Rowen has a flourishing career in the indie horror world.)
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